Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-05-12
Old Times.

Old Times.
Ed ReUister-No have not forgot
ten the first time had the buck-ague,
and don't suppose 1 ever will, though
it was not when 1 shot my first deer.
Soon after / sold my shot gun and
bought my old flint lock, was out in
the field beside the wood and not far
from the house, shooting at rabbits
eyes, for my old tutor told me to always
choose spot to shoot at if you want to
be good, sure shot, and don't shoot at
the bunch; shoot at the eye; draw
down slowly; then if you hit the eye
you are sure of your game, and if you
miss it you have not crippled the game.
So 1 was out shooting; my old bull dog
heard me, and came out where / was.
He ran a rabbit out into the woods and
began barking. I started to go to him;
the woods were an awful thicket, it be-
ing low, damp ground, where the fires
could not burn to keep the underbrush
burned out. A few hundred yards
from the fence was derrick in an open
place in the thicket. A very large
branching blackjack stood right over
the lick. AS I neared the lick could
see the dog jumping about and looking
very fierce; as got most through the
thicket ] looked up 10 see what excited
old Tige so, ard there, crouched on
lage limb, almost over my head, was
an animal looking down at me. AT
that time l think his head looked as
big as washtub, and his eyes as big
as saucers. Old Tige came and stood
at my feet, as if to protect me. / did
not feel any fear or feeling of terror
come over me. I stepped back few
steps to get better chance to shoot, as
I was too much under him; when
had backed far enough away to get a
good shot-about twenty or thirty feet
drew down on his arm just where it
joins the shoulder. L had not praGced
much with the rifle, so was afraid to
try his eye. AS drew down on him
old Tige sat down as close to my feet as
he could possibly get, and looked up at
the animal. When my gun fired the
animal made spring and landed right
and slipped to one side. That animal
with his hind feet threw the dog as
high as my head, and sprang for me,
but missed me. The dog caught him
again, and as he did so the animal
whirled on his back ready to give Tige
another lift, but I jumped on his hips
with my weight, and the way stamp
ped him with my feet was not slow.
BY that time Tige had him by the
throat. When he found we were too
much for him, he gave one OF the most
piercing, hideous yells / had ever heard.
I tell you it fairly made my cap rise
from my head! After We had killed
him, began to load my gun when /
was seized with a perfect fit of buck
ague, and all sorts of ague, my hands
.trembled, my knees fairly ratified, my
back ached, my teeth ratified like pair
of castanets, and went down in a heap
on the ground. and there lay for quite
while. After the excitement was
dragged my game home. We found
that it was lynx land one of the largest
of the kind. The old hunters told me
af;erward that they were more to be
feared than a panther, and it was q
wonder he had not jump cd down on me
as soon as ] went under him. When
got to the house my mother asked me
why did not come away when found
what kind of an animal was in the tree.
I told her that was what guns and
animals and protect the women. "But
wasn't you afraid?" told her "No,
was not" She said, "they that know
nothing, fear nothing" said had
read that Ignorance is bliss, where
twas folly to be WISE" / think the
buck-ague is like homesickness. /
have heard that if a person is once real
homesick he will never be so again.
and when one has had the genuine
buck-ague. he will never be troubled
so again. have seen persons, who al
ways get excited at anything, get the
trembles at the sight OF quail; but
that's not the buck-ague.
And now for my first deer. I had
always been sick by spells. from child
hood, and my ply in the east and
after we came west, told me that
must hunt, lie out, ride horseback and
rough it, or would never live to be a
man. "Take your gun with you when
Won ride.n / had been riding, and
when l reached the place where the
railroad crossing is by Mr.. Lyman's.
I saw two deer about seventy or eigh-
ty wards from me. / got off my horse
and drew down on one of the deer's
ewes: at the crack of my rifle the deer
fell, aud my horse ran off and left me.
AsIknew he would go home, i thought
some one would bring the horse back
to me; after loading my guu l went to
the deer and found had bit him just
inside the eye, but I had no buck-ague;